Archaic
by asteriskss
Summary: Damon decides that it's time to leave Mystic Falls and move on with his life. With Elena growing closer to Stefan there really isn't a reason left for him to stay. So he calls up an old friend, Dean Winchester, to see if an offer made many years ago was still on the table.
1. Offer Still Stands

**A/N**: This is just an introduction into Dean and Damon's friendship and how they met.

* * *

They were destined for each other so what else could he do? Damon had changed over the last few years and he owed Elena for that. He loved her and would honestly do anything if it meant she would be happy. So he did. He let them be together because it was ripping him apart watching the events take place. The only thing left to do was to leave and not ever look back.

Damon sighed as he slid into his car. His destination, well even he didn't know. He planned on just riding until he found somewhere he liked. Pulling his phone from his pocket he dialed up a familiar face, maybe it was time for a certain change of scenery.

"Hello?" The voice answered.

"I can't believe you still have this number." Damon teased.

"Damon?"

"Yeah, surprised?"

"Well yeah, dude, I thought you were dead or something."

"I'm still very much alive and kicking."

"So what's up with the out of the blue call? You good?"

"Peachy actually." He smirked and tapped the steering wheel a few times before starting the car. "I'm calling to see if your offer still stands."

"Always, with no questions asked." Just like Dean offered all those years ago.

* * *

_ **Backstory—** _

They met many years back while Sam was still in college and it was just John and Dean hunting. Damon was blowing through states on a blood binge and left a body count which of course John detected but turned the case over to his son. Dean investigated but came up with no leads, no witnesses, and so no solution. During his investigation the bodies suddenly stopped popping up and he hit a cold case. John wasn't pleased and made it known to Dean that he screwed up even though he really didn't.

Feeling the weight of disappointing his father, he headed to the nearest bar; that's how he met Damon Salvatore and how they became drinking buddies.

They hit it off well and spent the next few months hanging out while Dean enjoyed his separation from his father. This was when Dean took his very first and only vacation from hunting. They shared their interest in cars and music and soon became good friends, which was a surprise to not only Dean but Damon too. Things were going smoothly until John returned and loaded Dean up with another case and disappeared again.

He was doing fine until several days went by with no word from his father. Usually if John was going to be gone for a while he would call or keep in touch somehow but Dean received nothing. So of course Dean went out in search of his father.

Damon ended up saving Dean's life that night he went out to find John but at the same time he exposed what he actually was to Dean.

Dean had a false lead that John was lured into a vampire's nest and went in with a vengeance and no plan. He would have died that night if Damon hadn't of eavesdrop on the phone call he had with Bobby about John's disappearance.

Damon rushed in and killed the entire nest in less than 2 minutes which left Dean prepared to kill Damon. The vampire then compelled Dean to forget what he saw and that all Damon did was assist him in killing the creatures. Damon didn't want to hurt or kill Dean, he actually liked him.

When they said their goodbyes that next day, Dean offered Damon to tag along and hunt with him but that offer was declined.

That was the last time they saw or spoke to each other.

* * *

"D? You there?" Dean asked.

"What?"

"I said, I'm in Chicago right now but I'll be hitting the road for Kansas in a few days. Where are you?"

"Leaving Virginia."

"Give me a shout when you're in Illinois."

"Sure." He sighed heavily before pulling out of the driveway of his home. "Thanks, Dean."

_Thanks for the new start._

"You saved my life, I owe you, man." Dean was a man of his word.

* * *

Dean forgot that he still had to tell Sam and Castiel about Damon. Not seeing him after all those years he never even mentioned him to his brother. Judging by Sam's expression though, Dean wasn't sure what the initial reaction actually was. "Sammy?"

"Let me get this straight, you invited some stranger to hunt with us because they asked?"

"Kind of- I offered a long time ago. He's not a stranger though, dude saved my life, hell I'd be dead if he didn't help me out. I can vouch for him, Sam. He's a good guy." In certain circumstances with certain people Damon was considered a good guy.

"No. This is crazy."

"It's not like I'm inviting him to live with us, it's just he's my friend, Sam."

"Dean, you don't have friends. Besides, you never mentioned him before."

"That's because it was back when you were on a hunting hiatus for college, Dad was gone for nearly three months and I bonded with this guy, okay?"

Sam sighed and saw how strongly Dean felt about this guy. He couldn't just refuse. "Fine but if he slows us down, he's out."

Dean smiled. "He's badass, Sammy; you don't have to worry about that."

* * *

Damon arrived in Chicago the next day since he didn't make any stops. They planned to meet up at the Hard Rock Cafe and Dean had been there for nearly an hour already.

When Damon walked through the doors he spotted his friend right away. Dean hadn't changed a bit. "Winchester."

Dean grinned and quickly stood up straight before turning around to meet familiar blue eyes. He wouldn't lie; it was great to see Damon again. How long had it been? "Salvatore." He reached out and hugged Damon instantly. "It's been a while; it's good to see you, man. How have you been?"

"It has been a while, hasn't it? Eight years to be exact."

"Dude."

"September of 2005."

"Should I be worried that you remember the month?"

"Good memory on my part." Damon laughed and took a seat, wasting no time in ordering a shot of bourbon.

"So what have you been up to, man?"

"Bonding with my little brother and leaving a very good friend behind." In a way it was the truth, he and Stefan had grown closer over the years and he left Alaric behind.

"I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yeah, we weren't on very good terms when I met you. So he didn't exist in my head then."

Dean just laughed. He had been down that road before. They had more in common than he realized. "Well, at least it's better now, right?"

"Yeah." Stefan had the girl and his psychotic brother out of town. "Much better." Damon ordered another shot before turning to Dean. "What about you? Did your brother ever come back?"

Dean huffed. "Shit, man. A lot has happened in the last eight years but he's back and things couldn't be better." Their relationship wasn't strained like in the past years. They communicated more and tried to keep no secrets.

"Good, it had you pretty stressed the last I saw you."

"Tell me, Damon. What's the real reason you're taking up my offer?"

"New start, out with the old and in with the new." Damon changed but he was still impulsive which would get him caught if he slipped up with Dean. This was the only one of his few friends that he hadn't killed. Granted, Alaric did come back but it wasn't the same. He never had the urge to kill Dean.

"Then I guess we should hit the road. My brother is waiting for us and- and we need to talk about hunting. You sure you up for this? It can get pretty fucked up."

Damon snorted. "I'm sure it won't bother me." He'd seen his fair share of creatures in his lifetime.

"Alright, once you're in, there ain't no turnin' back."

"Then I'm in for the long run."

They had a few more drinks before heading to the motel so Sam could meet Damon. He wasn't sure how this first meeting would go but it couldn't be that bad, right?

* * *

"It's nice to meet you." Sam said.

"Likewise." Damon replied.

"So you're from Virginia?"

"Yeah, I stayed there for a while until now. I travel a lot."

"And you're okay with hunting vampires, demons, angels, and all the other creatures out there?"

Damon raised a brow. "Angels?" He was slightly surprised but considering the other things that existed he couldn't be completely shocked.

"There are a lot of things that you wouldn't believe exist."

"I guess I'm in for a ride huh?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "You have no idea."


	2. It's Complicated

**Summary**: Damon fits right in with the Winchesters but a blast from the _past_ is making a statement to stay relevant in Damon's life.  
**A/N**: Yet another cliff hanger! Dun, dun, dun!

* * *

Their hunting with Damon was actually really great. Damon came in handy when creatures weren't expecting him to show up out of nowhere. After a few weeks on the job, even Sam warmed up to him. Castiel on the other hand wasn't too fond of the new edition to Team Free Will and that was only because Damon called him the Feather Princess. Too soon, it was still too soon for angel jokes.

Damon was lucky Dean offered him to come on the road with them all those years ago. He never thought that he would take up the offer but shit happens. Dean said if he ever needed to get away and wanted to hit the road and hunt, to give him a call.

And that's what he did.

* * *

So, being stabbed with an angel's blade was a new experience for Damon. It hurt like hell and it was taking him too long to heal. Apparently the angelic blade halted the healing process for vampires. Luckily, that benefited him since he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that his wounds miraculously disappeared. He was still hiding that he was a vampire and trying to find an easy way to tell Dean. He knew that wasn't really an option since Dean hunted creatures for a living. "When you said we'd be hunting angels, I don't remember hearing anything about these fucking blades." He said wincing at the wound on his stomach.

Dean laughed and motioned for Damon to raise his shirt. "Eh, that little detail might have slipped my mind, sorry dude." He tapped Damon's knee before moving in between his legs. "This will sting a bit or a lot depending on your pain tolerance." He dumped the liquor on the deep wound and quickly began wrapping the bandage around it.

The pain didn't faze him but he made a face for good measure. "Dr. Dean, you always take such good care of me, baby." He cooed lovingly.

"Shut it."

Sam grinned. "If you two are done flirting, we need to find a motel for the night."

"Ha, ha." Damon replied.

"Where's Cas?" Dean asked.

"He's still pouting because Damon called him the Feather Princess."

Dean held in his laugh and shoved the vodka bottle into Damon's hand. "Damnit, D." He shook his head disappointingly. "No angel jokes okay? He's off limits, got it?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Fine." He was finally figuring out that Dean had a thing for the ex-angel.

"Thanks." He wouldn't let anyone mess with Castiel. "I'll be right back, don't move though, I'm not done yet." With that said he went inside the church to find Castiel. He knew that's where he was.

"He didn't mean it, Cas." Dean said as he approached the row of seats near the altar. "Damon can be a dick sometimes but he didn't mean it."

Castiel's gaze remained focused on the wooden floors as he listened to Dean's slow approaching footsteps. "It is fine."

"No, it's not. It's still a touchy subject for you and I understand that, man. I told him to layoff with the jokes. You don't have to worry about it, okay?"

Castiel smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Dean." He wouldn't say that he hated Damon, he just wasn't on board Team Damon yet. He was more sarcastic than he was prepared for. Still, he recognized that he was a great addition to the group.

"Anytime." He placed a hand on the former angel's shoulder and took a seat next to him. "We're getting another motel for tonight then we're headed back to Kansas. You need to rest because you look like crap. You haven't been sleeping have you?"

"I am fine, Dean."

"You need more than just four hours of sleep, Cas."

"You only need four." He rebutted.

"That's not healthy, understood? _You_ need at least 7 hours, I've had many years of practice so I'm used to it and can function with only four hours."

Castiel sighed and made a face that he learned from Sam. The infamous bitch face. "Very well if I must."

Dean took notice of that familiar face and playfully hit him. "Sam has gotta stop teaching you that. You're getting a little too good at it."

"Sam is a very good teacher." He smiled and stood from his seat. "Shall we go?"

Dean smirked. "Yeah, let's go, buddy."

* * *

After a few hours and two towns closer to Kansas they had found a motel and called it a night. They rented two rooms; one for Damon and the other for Sam, Dean, and Castiel who insisted on watching over Dean while he slept. Sam was in bed sleeping while Castiel was in Dean's bed sleeping; he was the first to go.

Meanwhile, Dean was with Damon watching some horrible horror flick that caused more laughing rather than fear. They were comfortably on the couch; Dean was sitting upright, feet on the small coffee table while eating popcorn from the bowl that he sat on Damon's chest.

Damon was lying down with his head in Dean's lap. They were having their buddy bonding time.

"You've got to be kidding me," Damon started. "I can't believe this really scares people. That's not even a realistic zombie."

"Unfortunately dude, people are chicken-shits."

"I suppose when you consider the profession you guys have, it's not really easy to get scared."

"Well yeah, there are scarier fucking things than their crappy CGI tricks." He looked down at his friend and grinned. "Leviathans; remember when I told you about those?"

"The freaky shape shifter things with the huge mouths?"

Dean nodded. "They were scary- not that I was scared or anything."

Damon laughed. "Dean Winchester scared? Hell would have to freeze over first."

The irony of that statement forced a chuckle from Dean. He was really enjoying having Damon around. Damon was honestly his only friend that didn't die or had their life screwed up by his profession. They got along and Dean actually_talked _and _vented _to him. That was something he never had before. He didn't want to burden Sam and Castiel was still dealing with being human and shit so he kept it to himself.

Damon was his confidant.

Damon sat up and took the bowl of popcorn with him. "Sounds interesting, you know, the shit you end up seeing over the years." His words were curious but his expression was saying something different. He understood how the supernatural world could ruin a life- he understood that all too well. "But sometimes a boring humdrum life seems more interesting."

Dean stared at him for a moment before shrugging. Obviously there was something more to those words but he didn't ask. If Damon was in a sharing mood he would have elaborated. "Maybe, but I ain't trading in my life for nothin'." He grinned and tossed a piece of popcorn at him. "How is your scratch?" He teased.

"Scratch? That was like a fatal wound, Dean. I think I saw the light."

"Yeah, sure."

"But if you must know, it's much better, I hardly noticed that it's there."

"Good. I should probably give you a rundown of the weapons we come by on the daily basis. Some of 'em aren't pretty."

"That would be great since you know, angel blades aren't something we all hear about on the daily basis." He grinned and slid the bowl over to Dean before standing. "So I'm going to make a quick run to the store, do you need anything?"

"Nah, but you should be in bed young man; you're a growing boy after all."

"Funny, real funny, moron."

He scooped up a handful of popcorn before sitting the bowl on the table. "Shut up, I'm fucking hilarious." Moving over to the bed he flopped down on the surprisingly comfortable mattress and slid under the covers. "I'm stealing your bed then since you're leaving."

"Not a problem."

"If I'm sleep when you come back don't wake me up."

Damon smirked. "I'm not making any promises." With that said, he exited the motel room after grabbing his car keys. Messing with Dean was fun and he wouldn't turn down an opportunity to mess with him in his sleep.

* * *

As soon as he approached his car he froze. Something was off, it was too quiet even though it was so late. He turned and walked towards the road. No cars, no people, nothing. Damon stopped in the middle of the road and heard a sharp piercing sound then hit the ground instantly. "Fuck!" He gripped at the stake that was launched deeply into his shoulder. He groaned and tried to pull the stake out. "Either you have fucking bad aim or-"

"Or I'm not trying to kill you."

Damon's eyes widened at the familiar voice. "Ric."


	3. The Past Always Wins

**Summary**: Alaric and Dean finally meet and Damon answers why he initially left. Meanwhile, being a vampire isn't so much of a bad thing anymore.  
**A/N**: Thank you all for the wonderful comments! Let me know how you like it so far!

* * *

Damon was used to getting attacked by people he knew but when he left Mystic Falls he didn't expect for anyone to notice and he damn sure didn't expect for Alaric to come after him. Hell, he didn't think Alaric would actually leave Elena behind.

Damon sighed heavily as he exited his car; he had parked over by some creek near the woods. He had called Dean an hour ago telling him where to meet him. They needed to talk as soon as possible.

When the sound of Dean's impala roared in the distance he rolled his eyes. He groaned as the hunter parked alongside the Camaro. Dean sure took his sweet time getting there.

"Took you long enough to get here, Dean."

"Well excuse me for sleeping, I kind of thought I made that clear before you left that I was tired. What happened anyways, you never came back?"

"I didn't even make it to the store, I had a- um, a visitor."

"Who?"

"Remember that _closest friend_ I told you that I left behind?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he found me."

Dean raised a brow. "Okay, is that a bad thing?"

Damon frowned and turned his attention to the slight dent in his car. "I don't know yet." Alaric seemed pretty pissed last night but he couldn't really tell. "Oh and yeah, I probably should have mentioned that he's a hunter."

Dean laughed because he thought that he was joking. He was convinced that he was the only hunter that Damon knew.

"I'm serious."

Dean tilted his head to the side and gave Damon a look. Something obviously was going on. "So he tracked you down why?"

Damon parted his lips, "because-" before he could get his sentence out a soft voice interrupted him.

"Hello, Damon." Alaric cooed as he approached the two leaning against the Camaro.

Dean turned and locked eyes on the approaching blond.

Damon grumbled something under his breath and decided introductions were needed. "Dean, this is Alaric. Alaric, this is Dean." He wasn't sure why but the introduction seemed so awkward and uncomfortable. He figured what previously happened between Alaric and himself was the main source of hostility.

Dean nodded to the guy. "Hey."

"It's nice to meet you." He dropped his gaze to Damon and he swore the vampire was holding back something. "Sorry to intrude but Damon and I have unfinished business."

"Say no more, it's cool, man." He turned to Damon and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll let you talk in private. I'll be at the diner if you need me."

Damon nodded and soon Dean was taking off down the dirt road in his car.

"Hunting, Damon, really?"

"You and I both know that's not the real reason why you're here. So get to the point, Ric."

Alaric glared as he stepped closer to Damon. "You're serious? You really are a piece of work. You end up in bed with me then the next morning you decide to skip town. I don't know about you but that's a bit rash. You didn't even say goodbye."

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I know I was wrong." Damon didn't apologize for anything so that meant a lot. He wasn't sure why he left with no word but a lot of things happened. He didn't know how to deal with them all. "I didn't intend to just you know, leave but damn, I was just tired of Mystic Falls, I needed a change." He couldn't bring himself to tell Alaric that he didn't want to leave him for the fear that it would have sounded needy.

Alaric closed the rest of the space between them and ran a hand up under Damon's t-shirt. "I forgive you." He whispered before he drove a stake through Damon's side.

Damon grunted but made no move to remove it. "You sure have a funny way of showing that."

"And you sure have a funny way of showing that you actually do care." He slowly pulled out the stake and kissed Damon on the lips. He was pissed, who wouldn't be? But more than anything he was hurt. That night he shared with Damon was important and not because of the sex. It was important because Damon opened up to him, he talked about his past, he talked about how he felt inside, and he cried- Damon fucking Salvatore _cried_ and Alaric was seeing an entirely new side to him. He always thought that Damon was impulsive and reckless because he didn't know any better or that he did it for the hell of it but no; he did it to fill a void that had been growing since he first was turned. Damon's heart ached even though there was no beat.

When Alaric realized that Damon was gone he thought it was because of him. He wondered if he said the wrong thing or if he needed to say more. He panicked and that confusion soon turned to rage because after a night like that you don't just leave.

"Why did you leave?" He whispered against Damon's lips.

"Because things I want always die."

Alaric felt sharp pains serge through his chest and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. What he thought was the reason of Damon's departure was completely off track. "You're such an asshole." He brought his hand to the back of Damon's neck and kissed him again.

* * *

Damon filled Alaric in on what had been happening since he was gone and to Alaric's surprise, Damon hadn't fed from a person since he left Mystic Falls.

"So they don't know?"

Damon shook his head. "Unfortunately no, I haven't compelled them- well, I did compel Dean when I first met him because he saw me kill an entire nest of vampires to save him but that's beside the point. He doesn't know now and if he did, it wouldn't work out."

"And you think you can hide this from them forever? You're the one who said they're keen hunters."

"I'm not stupid, I know I have to tell them but I'm not exactly in a rush to do that. Dean is a hunter through and through and I know he won't be so caring once he finds out what I am. He'll try to kill me and honestly, I expect nothing less."

"Then don't tell him." Alaric suggested. His other solution called for Damon retuning home but he kept that suggestion to himself.

"It's inevitable."

Dean was a really great friend and that was something Damon rarely said and he'd been around for quite a while. He knew sooner or later his secret would be revealed so beating around the bush only made it worse. "I guess I'll tell him today and see how it plays out."

"Be careful."

"Blondie, I was born careful."

* * *

Damon and Alaric parted ways and Damon was forced to promise that he wouldn't just take off again without saying anything. He had no plans of disappearing on Alaric again especially after Alaric hunted him down.

He soon arrived at the diner near the motel they were staying at and caught sight of Dean sitting at a booth inside. He joined the hunter and grinned as Dean stuffed his face with pie. "Have you really been here this entire time eating pie?"

"Damn right."

"Two words: pie anonymous."

Dean laughed. "So you and blond dude doing alright?"

Damon nodded. "More or less."

A heavy silence fell over the booth and Dean swallowed awkwardly. "I've been around Sam long enough to know when a person's gotta say something but can't make up their mind. So spit it out already."

Damon grinned and tapped his fingers along the wooden table. "Straight to the point, alright, I'm a vampire. I was born in 1839."

Dean froze mid-chew at Damon's words. "Ha, that's really funny."

"I'm not kidding."

"Sure."

Damon sighed and grabbed Dean's butter knife and stabbed himself right in his hand. The wound instantly healed. "I figured if I was going to actually do this friendship thing right that you should know that."

Dean stared at him. He was confused for a number of reasons, three to be exact. One was why he hadn't jumped over the table and attempt to rip Damon's head off. Two was why he was as calm as he was. Three, why was he okay with it.

"You aren't going to be a dick and try to kill me are you?"

"I'm tempted."

"But?"

"It'll be like killing a family member." He did not want to go through befriending a vampire again but he had grown close to Damon. "I don't get it."

Damon showed his fangs. "I'm a vampire, Dean. There's not much more to understand. Well there is the little bit of the difference between me and the usual vamps you encounter. Like the fucking dead man's blood, not effective for me. And my blood doesn't turn you, it actually heals. Downside to that is if you die with my blood in your system you turn." He didn't mind telling the little things but he wouldn't reveal any weaknesses or important abilities. He wasn't naive.

"Have you-"

"No. I haven't fed from anyone since I've been traveling with you guys if that's what you're wondering."

"Good." He suddenly lost his appetite. How was he going to explain this to Sam?

"I'll tell Sam."

"No."

"And why not?"

"Sam _will_ kill you. Fuck, this is Benny all over again." He grumbled.

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it; we need to figure this out." He stood and glanced down at Damon before looking to the door. "If you fuck up I'll kill you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't have to give me the morality speech. I know the drill."

"Good, just so we're clear." With that said he dropped a tip on the table and headed out of the diner.

That was a start of a unfortunate circumstance.


End file.
